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(No Model.) Jl Si, STEPHBNSON.

CANOE. l No. 281,316. Patented July 17, 1883.

zzgl y ,3 /fmiiiiniiifl llllllll of Peterborough, in the county of Peterbor- 'To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. STEPHENSON, OF PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO, CANADA.

cANol-z.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,316, dated July 17, 1882.v l

Application filed April 23, 1883. (No model.) Patented in Canada June 7, 1879, No. 10,063.

Be it known that I, JOHN SSTEPHENSON,

ough, in the Province of Ontaria, in the Dominion of Canada, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements in Canoes, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same.

The object of my invention is to construct a canoe which shall be light, durable, not liable to warp or twist by exposure, and be smooth inside and outside; and my invention consists of a canoe built of matched strips of Wood formed to shapein a mold after being steamed, said strips extending from gunvvale to gun- Wale, and fastened thereto, the tapering ends of the canoe closed by stem and stern cut-Water posts, and having slats on the inside, laid longitudinally of the shell, and fastened to the strips.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved canoe. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same; Fig. 3, a cross-section, and Fig. 4 an enlarged detail view, in perspective, Ashowing one end of the matched strips fastened to a gunvvale.

A are strips of Wood composing the shell, which strips, in a canoe of about thirty inches beam and fifteen feetlong, to Weigh about fty pounds, should be about one and onehalf inchin Width and three-eighths of an inch in thickness. The strips are matched on both edges by tonguing, grooving, or halving, so that when matched the inside and outside surfaces are uniformly smooth. Each strip, after being cut to an appropriate length, is

steamed and placed in a mold to shape it to the form it is designed to occupy in the shell. The strips extend from gunvvale 'B to the opY posite gunWale, C, the ends of the strips fastened by nails or otherwise secured to said gun- Wales and driven together laterally. The shell tapers toward both ends, and the terminal strips are closed by inserted stem and stern cut-Water posts D and E.

F are slats of Wood, of suitable Width and thickness, laid Within the shell longitudinally, and fastened to the strips by nails or other means. l

The shell is strengthened at bow and stern by decks Gr G', fastened to the gunwales and stiffened amidships by seats or thWarts H, secured to side slats, F F, on Which the seats bear. Thus the shell of my canoe is constructed of a single thicknessof Wood, the sides and bottom continuous, thereby dispensing with a keel and ribs.

I claim as my invention- As an improved article of manufacture, a canoe, the shell built of matched and bent Wood strips A, arranged transversely to the length of the boat, and extending kfrom gun- Wale to gunvvale, and fastened thereto to form Continous sides and bottom, the terminal strips at boW and stern closed by cut-Water posts, and within the shell longitudinal slats F, fastened to strips A, substantially as set forth.

JOHN S. STEPHENSON. 

